System for mapping joint performance

Abstract

Disclosed herein are techniques for joint performance monitoring and diagnosis. A joint monitoring system includes a plurality of event detection sensors configured to be mounted on a wearer of the joint monitoring system, and a plurality of position tracking sensors configured to be mounted on the wearer. The plurality of event detection sensors is configured to generate detection signals for detecting an event in a joint region. The joint region includes a region within a body of the wearer and within a threshold distance of a joint. The detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors includes information for determining a location of the event. The plurality of position tracking sensors is configured to record position information of one or more body parts associated with the joint in response to the detected event.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A joint monitoring system comprising:
 a plurality of event detection sensors configured to be mounted on a wearer of the joint monitoring system and configured to generate detection signals for detecting an event in a joint region, wherein the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors comprise information for determining a location of the event, and wherein the joint region comprises a region within a body of the wearer and within a threshold distance of a joint; and 
 a plurality of position tracking sensors configured to be mounted on the wearer and configured to, in response to the detected event, record position information of one or more body parts associated with the joint. 
 
     
     
       2. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to execute instructions to determine the location of the event based on the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors. 
     
     
       3. The joint monitoring system of  claim 2 , further comprising a computer-readable storage medium configured to store the position information of the one or more body parts and the determined location of the event. 
     
     
       4. The joint monitoring system of  claim 2 , further comprising a wireless communication subsystem configured to send the position information of the one or more body parts and the determined location of the event to an external device. 
     
     
       5. The joint monitoring system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to execute instructions to detect the event based on the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors and one or more threshold values. 
     
     
       6. The joint monitoring system of  claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to execute instructions to:
 determine that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region based on the determined location of the event; and 
 in response to determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region, trigger the plurality of position tracking sensors to record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       7. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the plurality of event detection sensors comprises a plurality of acoustic sensors; and 
 the event comprises a sound. 
 
     
     
       8. The joint monitoring system of  claim 7 , further comprising a controller, wherein:
 the plurality of acoustic sensors includes an array of acoustic sensors; and 
 the controller is configured to execute instructions to determine a direction of the sound based on the detection signals from the array of acoustic sensors. 
 
     
     
       9. The joint monitoring system of  claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to execute instructions to:
 determine that the sound is originated within the joint region based on the determined direction of the sound; and 
 in response to determining that the sound is originated within the joint region, trigger the plurality of position tracking sensors to record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       10. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of position tracking sensors comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetic field sensor, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       11. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the position information of each of the one or more body parts comprises a position of each of the one or more body parts or data for determining the position of each of the one or more body parts. 
     
     
       12. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a user interface, wherein the plurality of position tracking sensors is configured to, in response to an input signal from the user interface, record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
     
     
       13. The joint monitoring system of  claim 12 , wherein the input signal from the user interface indicates that a pain has occurred in the joint region. 
     
     
       14. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a calibration device comprising a transmitter, the transmitter configured to generate an acoustic signal and a radio-frequency (RF) signal, 
 wherein a first event detection sensor of the plurality of event detection sensors is configured to receive the RF signal at a first time instant and receive the acoustic signal at a second time instant, a time delay between the first time instant and the second time instant indicating a distance between the transmitter of the calibration device and the first event detection sensor. 
 
     
     
       15. The joint monitoring system of  claim 14 , further comprising a controller, wherein:
 the calibration device comprises two or more transmitters, each transmitter of the two or more transmitters configured to generate an acoustic signal and an RF signal; 
 the first event detection sensor is configured to receive the RF signal and the acoustic signal generated by each of the two or more transmitters; and 
 the controller is configured to determine a location of the first event detection sensor based on time instants when the RF signal and the acoustic signal generated by each of the two or more transmitters are received by the first event detection sensor. 
 
     
     
       16. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of event detection sensors and the plurality of position tracking sensors are embedded in an article of clothing. 
     
     
       17. The joint monitoring system of  claim 1 , further comprising a force sensor configured to be affixed to a shoe, the force sensor configured to detect a force applied to a leg. 
     
     
       18. A method for monitoring a joint, the method comprising:
 receiving detection signals from a plurality of event detection sensors mounted on a subject for detecting an event in a joint region, the joint region comprising a region within a body of the subject and within a threshold distance of the joint; 
 determining a location of the event based on the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors; and 
 receiving position information of one or more body parts associated with the joint from a plurality of position tracking sensors mounted on the subject, wherein the position information is recorded by the plurality of position tracking sensors in response to the detected event. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region based on the determined location of the event; and 
 in response to determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region, triggering the plurality of position tracking sensors to record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 storing the determined location of the event and the position information of the one or more body parts in a computer-readable storage medium. 
 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 generating at least one of a map of ranges of motion of the joint, or a map of locations of events occurred in the joint region and corresponding position information of the one or more body parts associated with the joint, based on the determined location of the event and the position information of the one or more body parts stored in the computer-readable storage medium. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 sending, using a wireless communication subsystem, the determined location of the event and the position information of the one or more body parts to an external device. 
 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 18 , wherein:
 the event comprises a sound; 
 the plurality of event detection sensors comprises a plurality of acoustic sensors; and 
 determining the location of the event comprises determining a direction of the sound based on the detection signals from the plurality of acoustic sensors. 
 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 receiving a user input signal from a user interface; and 
 in response to receiving the user input signal, recording the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 determining a location of an event detection sensor of the plurality of event detection sensors based on a time delay between a first time instant when an RF signal generated by a calibration device is received by the event detection sensor and a second time instant when an acoustic signal generated by the calibration device is received by the event detection sensor. 
 
     
     
       26. An apparatus comprising:
 means for receiving detection signals from a plurality of event detection sensors mounted on a subject for detecting an event in a joint region, the joint region comprising a region within a body of the subject and within a threshold distance of a joint; 
 means for determining a location of the event based on the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors; and 
 means for receiving position information of one or more body parts associated with the joint from a plurality of position tracking sensors mounted on the subject, wherein the position information is recorded by the plurality of position tracking sensors in response to the detected event. 
 
     
     
       27. The apparatus of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 means for determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region based on the determined location of the event; and 
 means for, in response to determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region, triggering the plurality of position tracking sensors to record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       28. The apparatus of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 means for storing or sending the determined location of the event and the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       29. The apparatus of  claim 26 , further comprising:
 means for determining a location of an event detection sensor of the plurality of event detection sensors based on a time delay between a first time instant when an RF signal generated by a calibration device is received by the event detection sensor and a second time instant when an acoustic signal generated by the calibration device is received by the event detection sensor. 
 
     
     
       30. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by one or more processing units, causing the one or more processing units to:
 receive detection signals from a plurality of event detection sensors mounted on a subject for detecting an event in a joint region, the joint region comprising a region within a body of the subject and within a threshold distance of a joint; 
 determine a location of the event based on the detection signals from the plurality of event detection sensors; and 
 receive position information of one or more body parts associated with the joint from a plurality of position tracking sensors mounted on the subject, wherein the position information is recorded by the plurality of position tracking sensors in response to the detected event. 
 
     
     
       31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 30 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processing units, further cause the one or more processing units to:
 determine that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region based on the determined location of the event; and 
 in response to determining that the event detected by the plurality of event detection sensors is originated within the joint region, trigger the plurality of position tracking sensors to record the position information of the one or more body parts. 
 
     
     
       32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 31 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processing units, further cause the one or more processing units to:
 determine a location of an event detection sensor of the plurality of event detection sensors based on a time delay between a first time instant when an RF signal generated by a calibration device is received by the event detection sensor and a second time instant when an acoustic signal generated by the calibration device is received by the event detection sensor.